When pets are bathed or washed, soap and water is typically splashed over the surrounding area and the person bathing the pet. Compounding this problem, pets such as dogs or cats have a natural tendency to shake off or spray excess water before they can be dried. In addition, some pets just refuse to remain stationary during any type of grooming activity.
One way pets like dogs can be bathed is in an open shower. Commercial pet grooming salons are known to use this method. In such a situation, the groomer is particularly exposed to the risk of being bitten, scratched, knocked down or otherwise harmed by the pet, in addition to the inconvenience of being soaked by the shower. Therefore, a grooming device is needed which safely and simply restrains the pet during grooming and contains the soap and water associated with bathing the pet.
Various pet grooming devices have been developed in an attempt to solve these problems as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,879,915; 2,438,979; 3,023,734; 4,020,796; 4,407,234 and 4,930,453. With some of the devices disclosed in these patents, the pet is enclosed in a container having four walls, a bottom and a top. A groomer has access to the pet through access holes formed in the walls which are dimensioned to allow passage of the groomer's arm. These devices also have showering systems located within their walls. These showering systems are typically connected to a water source located outside the container.
One potential problem with pet grooming devices of the type disclosed in the patents noted above involves the access holes formed in the walls of the container which enable a person to contact the pet while the showering system is in operation. If the access holes in the container walls do not seal, water from the showering system as well as the soap or other cleaning medium being used is likely to splash out of the container through these access holes. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,453, for example, rubber gloves are mounted to the access holes to create a seal and keep the groomer dry. But, there are a number of problems associated with the use of such gloves. For example, having to modify or specially produce gloves which are mountable to the holes can be costly. In addition, wearing gloves while bathing the pet can impede efforts to properly clean the pet by reducing the bather's sense of touch, limiting the bather's freedom of movement, etc. As an alternative to rubber gloves, U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,234 discloses a grooming device in which an iris-shaped closure of flexible waterproof material is mounted to each hole. These closures have an opening which may be expanded or contracted by means of a circular adjusting ring. However, this structure is also relatively costly to produce and can be cumbersome to use.
Another feature of many of the pet grooming devices disclosed in the patents mentioned above is a restraint system such as a harness arrangement which is intended to secure and limit the movement of the pet while in the container. A number of these harness arrangements use straps in various configurations which allow the pet varying degrees of freedom to move within the container. However, none of these harnesses permits the pet to move from side-to-side or laterally within the container, i.e., toward and away from the access holes used by the groomer, while still securely restraining the pet from moving forward and backward toward either end of the container (i.e., longitudinally) or up and down within the container (i.e., vertically). Because the access holes are on the sides of the container, a harness arrangement which limits side-to-side movement could hinder efforts to groom the animal. In addition, a harness which allows longitudinal or vertical movement could increase the risk of the groomer being soiled or even harmed by the pet, as well as hinder grooming efforts.
A number of the grooming devices of the type described above also have wheels mounted on the bottom of the container. While having wheels on the bottom of the container can facilitate transporting the container from one location to another, they can also make keeping the container stationary difficult, for example, when the container is placed on an incline.